The highest species to inhabit the earth is evolving once more. I don't like the forecast. The majority of the increase in people's body fat was seen in the developing world, particularly in countries where incomes were rising, such as Egypt and Mexico. In the news today, the Overseas Development Institute's Future Diets report says this is due to changing diets and a shift from eating cereals and grains to the consumption of more fats, sugar, oils and animal produce. The ODI predicts a huge increase in heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. A total of 904 million people in developing countries are now classed as overweight or above. This compares to 557 million in high-income countries. Since the ODI's report began in 1980, the global population nearly doubled. At the same time, under-nourishment is still recognized to be a problem for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, particularly children.

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A UK think tank reports the figures for adults in the developing world have almost quadrupled to around one billion since 1980. In the UK, 64% of adults are classed as being overweight or obese. While North America still has the highest percentage of overweight adults at 70%, regions such as Australasia and southern Latin America are now not far behind with 63%. Among individual countries, the greatest growth in overweight people occurred in south east Asia, where the percentage tripled. The report found that overweight and obesity rates had almost doubled in China and Mexico, and had risen by a third in South Africa since 1980. Many countries in the Middle East also had a high percentage of overweight adults. This happened because a large group of people in emerging economies used their rising incomes by living in urban centers without taking much physical exercise. Is this what civilization has done to us? Surely there's more to life than eating.

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People with higher incomes have the ability to choose the kind of foods they want. For us, even those on a reduced income like a fixed pension, life offers abundance. We don't have to gather grain or scrabble in the undergrowth for our daily meal. We can enter a shop and buy something to please our palate. Fast food outlets offer cheap food. Enticed by advertising, many don't worry about the content of their burger. Perhaps they wash the fatty taste away with a carbonized, sugary drink. Later, they may raid the cupboards for chocolate while they watch television. In my own experience, this same free will allows me to choose health. Only natural foods like fruit, vegetables, cereal and protein in the form of fish or fowl will enter my body. For instance, this morning I peeled and ate two mandarins (local food) and a slice of pineapple (imported). An hour later, I cooked 1/3 cup of rolled oats into porridge. One cup of tomato soup will probably form my lunch, and this evening, my husband will cook a proper meal with fish and vegetables. Given my disability to take much exercise, I'm eating much less than when I was physically fit. However, my measures aren't altogether successful. Although my arms and legs are slim, I can't shift the bulge in my midriff. Most women over 70 years seem to have one. But that doesn't reassure me. Must try harder. What can be done on a general scale to change the rising tide of obesity? Perhaps governments could use more focused advertising for public health issues, as they do to limit smoking in developed countries. That's a huge challenge. How can a campaign tempt people away from their cravings?

What a shocker. It's like smokers, who only have themselves to blame. My husband is a case in point. He has tried to stop smoking for 2 years now with medical assistance. Luckily enough, he's still fighting fit at 75 yrs.